"YOU ARE DOING WHAT!? That's the question we heard most when we told our friends and families that we were franchising a Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids," says Janon Otto CEO of Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids Franchising - as well as a multi-unit franchisee for Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids. "They would also ask us what franchising is, and if we had gone crazy! Looking back, it's obvious that although there are franchises all over the place, most people have no idea what a franchise is. That's why the Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids franchising toolkit (available below) is so important. It really helps explain what franchising is, as well as the advantages of owning your own franchise business."

Ultimately though, it's important to understand that a franchise is a business model. When a business owner decides to expand their business, they have options.  One of those options is to franchise.  Franchising allows others to own their own company yet use the name, logo, and systems of the franchise business owner (the franchisor). And although a franchisee is responsible for the success or failure of their franchise location, there are some significant advantages to franchise ownership. This includes the following...

1. The franchisee doesn't not have to come up with their own unique business idea!
2. The franchisee can use the systems that have already been developed and used successfully by others, which dramatically shortens the learning curve!
3. The franchisee gets training and support with a business partner who knows and cares about the success of their new business.
4. If the franchise system is progressive, the franchisee doesn't have to worry about ongoing costs or keeping up with trends needed to develop the concept further, as the franchisor is responsible for this. Meanwhile, as the system grows, the name brand recognition grows - thus growing the business of the franchisee!
5. Tools to use for advertising and graphic design / marketing is usually provided as well.

And there is a BIG bonus to being in touch with business owners who are all trying to do the same think you are is a wonderful thing - many heads are much better than one!

Shear Madness Franchising franchises Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids salons. We have worked with franchise stores in providing franchisee support (in order to encourage continual growth and business success), and have sometimes seen the unexpected happen! When it does, we help by identifying and helping with challenges that might arise for franchisees. Additionally, we work to present options that can help prevent these events as well. As many franchise owners may not have opened a business before, having someone who can advise them is a significant advantage of franchise ownership!

Are you interested in learning how YOU can join the Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids family and run your own successful small business? We are one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today! If you would like to learn more about this franchise opportunity or small business marketing, great marketing strategies, resources for small businesses, franchise success, how to grow your small business or how to become a successful owner of your own kids hair salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD

In previous blogs we have discussed the importance of  being able to manage people and create a great team in your franchise. This doesn't happen over night, and depending on the industry you're in it may take months or even years. The key to all this may be your ability to identify the one or two employees who have the ability to lead. Identifying individuals who are the ultimate team players may very well be the key to your business success. A recent Harvard business report calls these individuals "charismatic connectors". These employees will become your Managers and free up your time so that you can work ON your business and not IN your business. They will help save you hundreds of hours of time, and be your wall against you working in your business handling problems. By letting them handle the problems,  this helps free you up to work on growing your business. 

These ultimate team players have the following characteristics: 

• They have the ability to engage any type of personality! Ultimate team players communicate with everyone equally.
• They don't show favoritism! Every team member has something to offer and these ultimate team players have the ability to bring that out.
• Their enthusiasm is contagious! 
• They show tough love. No one respects anyone that they can run over. These ultimate team players have the ability to put their foot down when necessary, and they can do it in such a way that the others on the team don't show resentment. Instead, they show respect. 
• They lead by example, often working long hours and going the extra mile because they like what they do.

Welcome to Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids Franchising! Not only do we offer an amazing franchising system that can potentially offer an impressive return on your investment, but we really do value being able to help make a positive difference in the lives of kids and their parents. From stylists who truly care about their customers, to franchisees who work hard at helping make a positive difference in their communities, Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids is THE kids hair salon where EVERY child matters! But we also understand that while the concept is important to a potential franchisee, they also want to know how owning a Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids might be a sound business investment too. That's why we thought we'd put together the following list of ten reasons why Shear Madness isn't just a cool place for kids (even though it definately is that), but it's also a concept that may potentially translate into long-term financial success! 

A Record of Success: Franchisors like Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids will have a proven record of success. Through years of experience marketing to their customers, they usually understand what works - and what doesn't. Through becoming a franchisee, you automatically gain this valuable business advantage.

Robust Industry: Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids offers services that are in high demand. The children’s segment of the recession resistant Hair Salon Industry is one such example, It's currently worth around $19 billion. To date, there are around 45 million kids in the Shear Madness age group – and this is expected to grow by about 7 million by the year 2020! 

Marketing Support: Ask anyone who runs a business, and they’ll tell you that marketing not only takes a lot of time – but can cost a lot of money too. However, an effective marketing plan is critical in letting the community know about what your business does, where it’s located, and so much more. For example, Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids understands this, and offers great resources and strategies to help businesses attract new customers.  

Buying Power:  Franchisors usually have experience in knowing what products sell well and what don’t. Additionally, they have the knowledge on how to negotiate for the best prices on everything needed for the successful operation of the business. Many times the sheer number of franchise locations allows the franchise to negotiate for better pricing.

Store Location: Where to locate is an important question any business owner should consider. Franchisors help study your community in order to help you find the best possible location for success.  They know the numbers and other criteria that allow for the possibility of a successful franchised business.

The Brand: A franchise brand is a powerful tool. As an example, the Shear Madness Brand is one that is instantly recognizable as being fun. Those who own a franchise with Shear Madness are automatically connected to the tens of thousands of parents and children who love who we are and what we do. This translates into many repeat customers who share with friends and family about their great Shear Madness experience! 

Building your Store: One of the benefits in buying a franchise is the franchisor's expertise  in designing the layout of a prospective business, working with the right contractors, and knowing how much furniture and equipment will be needed. Again, this helps a business owner save time, money, and keeps the headaches to a minimum! 

Networking: Franchising can be a little like a group of trusted friends, and should be a great environment of sharing and building each other up. Franchise owners who work with other franchisees and communicate what works and what doesn’t will have a competitive advantage over those who don’t! 

Training Support: Great franchise systems have worked hard to develop many training resources to help you achieve success. For example, with Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids, we provide our franchisees with in-store training with stylists, and encourage opportunities to network with other franchise owners. Because of this, you’ll have access to a wealth of business knowledge at your fingertips.

Minimizing Risk: Ultimately, as a potential owner of a franchise, the success of your store will be up to you. But through being a part of a franchise system like Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids, the risk of starting a new business is significantly reduced. Sure, there will still be challenges that come your way, but as a franchisee, you’ll have greater confidence and know-how in how to succeed. 

The Driven to Success Fall Conference was held this past October 3rd through the 5th at the beautiful and historic Elms Resort and Spa in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Exclusively for Shear Madness Franchise Partners, our 2017 Conference featured many great speakers who shared ideas and resources on how to help their business grow into the next year and beyond! In addition to valuable training seminars and plenty of opportunities for networking, Franchisees were also able to meet vendors one-on-one at a salon vendor show in order to view the latest in exciting hair products, toys and other great retail for their location.

The Driven to Success Fall Conference also featured Cindy Graziano of Gray Wolf Consulting. Cindy has been a corporate trainer and designer for more than twenty years, and has worked extensively with companies and non profit organizations in assessing organizational issues and providing employee development solutions. Her firm also provides counsel to teams as well as individuals through Executive Coaching. Her management and leadership consulting services have taken her across a wide range of companies domestically and internationally. Some of the companies she has consulted for include Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Time, Inc., Wells Fargo, Royal Bank of Canada and many others.

Our 2017 Conference also featured plenty of opportunities for Franchisees and managers to get to talk with each other, engage in team building exercises, and just relax and have fun. This included a Welcome cocktail reception held on the first evening, with a special dinner with vendors on the last night of the conference. In between, attendees could relax by the pool, get a massage at the spa or explore the expansive interior and exterior grounds of the historic Elms hotel.

Also, congratulations to all of our winners who were recognized at our 2017 Driven to Success Fall Conference! Todd Danni of Amherst, New York received the award for Franchise Location of the Year, Carolyn Vanderstaay of Olathe, Kansas received the Number 1 Ranked Location in the System, Jim and Janon Otto of Lee's Summit, Missouri received the Customer Service Award, Erin Nanke of Des Moines Iowa received the Top Franchise Location for Birthday Parties (as well as the Top Location for Retail and Ear Piercing for her Ankeny store), Kimberly Abeyta of Albuquerque, New Mexico received the award for Best Place for a Children's Haircut and Jackie Perkins of Humble, Texas received the Top Franchise Location for Community Outreach. Awesome job!

Janon Otto, CEO of Shear Madness Franchising, LLC noted that, "The Conference was an incredible venue for so many things!  Franchisees and Managers LOVED learning from each other, Cindy Graziano from Gray Wolf made her training SO relevant to all of our businesses and her presentation made it easy to remember what to apply.  The Vendor information shared helped all attendees diversify their inventory selections and choose top sellers for our stores!  So many other great things occurred it is hard to sum up in a short sentence!"

Are you interested in learning more about one of the best kids salon franchise systems out there? As one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today, Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids is working hard to share our many great resources for small businesses and business tips so that our franchisees will have the tools to succeed! If you're interested in learning how to franchise, develop a small business plan, or become a successful owner of your own childrens salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD!

In his book START WITH WHY, Simon Sinek tells the story of a group of American car executives who went to see a  Japanese assembly line. At the end of the line the doors were put on the hinges just like in America. However, something was missing. In America the workers at the end of the line tapped the door with a rubber mallet to make sure the doors lined up properly. In Japan that job did not seem to exist. Confused, the American auto executives asked at what point they made sure the doors fit perfectly. The Japanese guide looked at them and smiled sheepishly, "we make sure it fits when we design it". You see, in the Japanese auto plant they didn't examine the problem and accumulate data to figure out the best solution - they engineered the outcome they wanted from the beginning. If they didn't achieve the desired outcome, they understood it was because of a decision they made at the start of the process. 

• How many hours will I need to work and how will that change my lifestyle? 
• How much money can I reasonably expect to make for the money I invest? 
• Can I manage people and can I find enough workers for my franchise? 
• Is there a demand for the service in my area?
• Does the franchise I am considering have a proven track record of success?  
• Do they have the training and support that I need, when I need it?  
• If my franchise fails, will I be able to recover and still live comfortably?  

 

I recently met with a top-notch franchise consultant. He had developed a franchise system that he had built out and sold for a handy profit, hence his new business of being a "Franchise Consultant". Everyone wanted to know what his secret to success was. After two days of meetings with Bob (his name for the sake of this article) he finally told me the secret. As he was describing various franchisees, he told me about his best franchisee ever.  "Our best franchisees did about 2.5 to 3 million per year, but we had one guy in Milwaukee who did almost 5 million!"

What?! That's amazing! Of course, I wondered how in the world this guy in Milwaukee did it. I asked Bob about it, but it wasn't until 2 days later that he finally gave me the secret to this Milwaukee franchisees success. Bob simply said, "He worked harder then everyone else."  

We think the best way to prepare for future marketing trends is to study the behavior of the demographics that will soon be the dominant buying power! Our goal as a franchising system is to stay ahead of this trend, and help our franchisees create creative marketing strategies to connect to our target market now, and in the future. But this is something that applies to all businesses and their owners  (who are looking for ways to be even more successful in their communities) - not just kids haircutting salons!

For example, in studying our website traffic, we've seen that most of it comes in from a mobile device or smartphone. What this tells us is that our customers are likely very internet savvy, and looking for information readily available about what we offer through social media, search engines or our web site. We also understand the importance of social media marketing and reviews - as well as word of mouth marketing, which continues to be one of the best ways customers can learn about what your business offers.

So how does this fit in with millennials? Between 18 and 35 years old, millennials are projected to outgrow baby bo0mers in population size by 2028. Wow! Furthermore, it's reported that millennials are spending an average of 25 hours a week online, and are using the internet to engage with others more than any other age group that came before. Plus, as around 25% of the US population is a millennial, experts are saying that at least 75% of the US workforce will be comprised of millennials by 2025! 

Essentially, millennials will be the bulk of your customer base over the next 10 years, with a huge amount of descretionary buying power resting in their hands. Furthermore, around 89% of millennials say that they trust recommendations from friends and family, versus claims made by a company. Remember what we said about word of mouth marketing and social media reviews? This is where that comes into play. About 44% of millennials are willing to promote, or voice concerns over products and services online through social media - with many of them saying that user generated content on a company website influences what they will or won't buy. 86% of millennials would rather read a blog written by someone to learn about a company, rather than reading an ad in newspaper or print. Pretty cool stuff.

So in conclusion, Millennials are hyper connected online, but seek out offline activities with companies that create a positive experience and add value to their lives. Plus, despite ad blocking, millennials are actually more open to receiving branded messages than older generations of consumers have typically been, provided that content is targeted to their needs and interests. When millennials have a great experience with a company, they get online and share that experience on social media (via pictures or videos) with hundreds of their friends. This is awesome for a business, as they can become your number one, absolutely free marketing department out there practically promoting your busines 24 hours, 7 days a week!

Shear Madness Franchising franchises Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids salons. We have worked with franchise stores in providing franchisee support (in order to encourage continual growth and business success), and have sometimes seen the unexpected happen!  When it does, we help by identifying and helping with challenges that might arise for franchisees. Additionally, we work to present options that can help prevent these events as well. As many franchise owners may not have opened a business before, having someone who can advise them is a significant advantage of franchise ownership!

Are you interested in learning how YOU can join the Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids family and run your own successful small business that provides a positive experience in helping children and their families? We are one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today! If you would like to learn more about small business marketing, great marketing strategies, resources for small businesses, how to grow a small business, or how to become a successful owner of your own kids hair salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD!

Ask almost anyone who has opened their own franchise business, and they'll tell you that success rarely happens overnight! Building your store into a thriving business sometimes takes a healthy financial commitment, as well as patience, perseverance and of course - hard work! But after you've opened your first store, should you consider opening another? What about three or four? Or 25? In the world of franchising, with hard work and setting goals, you can achieve these dreams. But understandably, you have to make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew! 

While many franchisees may be perfectly happy with achieving success through opening one franchise location, opening multiple units requires certain abilities which may catch some people by surprise. For example, a franchisee will find that it's a completely different ball game managing multiple units. It's not like it was when they only had one store to worry about! Now, with many moving parts and employees to manage, a franchisee will need to step into a role more like that of a CEO (with managers, human resources and accounting staff to help grow the business). In other words, it'll be a lot more difficult and stressful to try to micro-manage every detail when multiple units are owned. This is where hiring the right people and trusting them to help you grow with multiple units is extremely important when pursuing this path. And sure, under a multi-unit model your employees might not do it exactly the way you would have done it, but as long as it's delivering the results, don't sweat it.  If you can get an employee to do it 80% of the way you would have - you have a great employee!

Additionally, a franchisee considering opening another store should make sure that they're not just falling prey to a "bigger is better" mentality. Because if a franchisee has opened 4 locations and 2 are losing money, it may end up being less profitable than having one or two stores that they're much more able to capably manage and grow - and ultimately make even more money than they would have made with 4 locations. Without the right systems in place for multi-unit ownership, it can become really difficult for one person to manage the growth of numerous locations, and the great customer service or experience that was once provided with just one or two stores might be an unfortunate casualty.

Location is another factor to consider when owning multiple units. Of course establishing a business in the right area to maximize profits is always key. But it's also good to be aware that the farther apart your franchise locations are from each other, the more challenging it might become to manage properly. Not only that, but distance might impact how much shipping or delivery of retail from your warehouse costs, which could cut into profit margins as well. 

And then there's those unexpected emergencies that might happen when you own more than one store. For example, what happens if one of the stores you've opened is located in a great area, but road construction for several months impacts the flow of customers? Because of this, it's sometimes a good idea to make sure that you have multiple ways to support the business in case of those scenarios that temporarily causes a dip in your profits. To illustrate this concept, consider a business owner who owns several book stores. In order to diversify incomes for unexpected financial situations, this owner also sells books online, hosts school book fairs, and perhaps works as a small publisher for local authors.

In the end, there's sure to be a lot of other valuable decisions to think about before investing the time, energy and monetary resources into multi-unit development. But with careful research, networking with other multiunit franchisees, and attending workshops or conferences, those business owners interested in the potential that this exciting avenue of franchising represents will be better equipped for whatever comes down the road!

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Are you interested in learning how YOU can join the Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids family and run your own successful small business? We are one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today! If you would like to learn more about this franchise opportunity or small business marketing, great marketing strategies, franchise development, resources for small businesses, how to grow your small business or how to become a successful owner of your own kids hair salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD